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World J Radiol. Dec 28, 2015; 7(12): 459-474
Published online Dec 28, 2015. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v7.i12.459
Multi-detector computed tomography imaging of large airway pathology: A pictorial review
Tejeshwar Singh Jugpal, Anju Garg, Gulshan Rai Sethi, Mradul Kumar Daga, Jyoti Kumar
Tejeshwar Singh Jugpal, Anju Garg, Jyoti Kumar, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
Gulshan Rai Sethi, Department of Pediatrics, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
Mradul Kumar Daga, Department of Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India
Author contributions: Jugpal TS substantially contributed towards the conception of study and drafting the article; Garg A and Kumar J analysed the data and critically revised to assess intellectual content in the article; Sethi GR and Daga MK contributed data for study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors declare no conflict of interests for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Jyoti Kumar, MD, Professor, Department of Radiodiagnosis, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi 110002, India. drjyotikumar@gmail.com
Telephone: +91-99-68604361
Received: May 24, 2015
Peer-review started: May 25, 2015
First decision: August 3, 2015
Revised: October 23, 2015
Accepted: November 13, 2015
Article in press: November 17, 2015
Published online: December 28, 2015
Processing time: 218 Days and 6.2 Hours
Abstract

The tracheobronchial tree is a musculo-cartilagenous framework which acts as a conduit to aerate the lungs and consequently the entire body. A large spectrum of pathological conditions can involve the trachea and bronchial airways. These may be congenital anomalies, infections, post-intubation airway injuries, foreign body aspiration or neoplasms involving the airway. Appropriate management of airway disease requires an early and accurate diagnosis. In this pictorial essay review, we will comprehensively describe the various airway pathologies and their imaging findings by multi-detector computed tomography.

Keywords: Multi detector computed tomography; Trachea; Bronchial tree; Airway abnormality; Virtual bronchoscopy

Core tip: There is a wide range of lesions affecting the airway and patients with airway pathology usually present late during the course of disease. Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) has become the mainstay investigation modality as it provides detailed information about the airway and its surrounding structures with high spatial resolution. Therefore it is prudent to know the various pathology affecting airway and its appearance on MDCT.